Christmas 2024 is coming – there are advertisements for everything ranging from gifts to food, from planning holidays to advice about managing difficult family relationships when everyone gathers around the Christmas table. We know from our own experience, from engaging with the people in our various ministries within Mercy Ministry Companions and hearing their stories, that times are tough for many, many individuals and families. How might we respond in these weeks leading up to our celebration of the birth of Jesus at Christmas time?
In the commercial world, as in many parts of our society, there is little mention of the four-week season of Advent which anticipates and leads up to Christmas, except perhaps for the marketing of chocolate and other types of Advent calendars.
Advent calendars have their origin in the 19th century German Lutheran communities, where people made chalk marks on walls or doors to tick off each day leading up to Christmas. Some lit candles or placed straws in their crib. In some Nordic and European countries, communities use the windows in their buildings to create ‘living’ Advent calendars, each window decorated differently for each day of Advent.
It seems that the first chocolate-themed calendars appeared in the 1950s. Nowadays, Advent calendars come in a range of forms. Many calendars have flaps or doors to open in anticipation of what might be found behind them! Some continue the religious theme, while others do not. What does your calendar look like leading up to Christmas?
This time of preparation and anticipation of the birth of Jesus is a gift to each of us amid the busyness and stress of our personal and working lives. Taking the opportunity each day of Advent to ponder, to remember and to tap into the wonder evidenced so much in small children, can be food for the soul. On a personal level, as you walk the dog, park your car, log on to the computer, or check your daily calendar, take one minute of ‘Advent time’ to be mindful of the anticipated events of the day and ask for the wisdom to notice the un-anticipated opportunities to be kind and compassionate. God’s spirit can work in ways we might not anticipate.
- At home or in your workplace, you could offer people an opportunity to think about the season of Advent in small ways which help to build a shared understanding of its significance. There may be opportunities for people from different cultures to share their Advent customs at a social gathering or as part of a meeting.
- You may have time to prepare a ministry Advent calendar for the month of December. Locate it in a regular physical gathering-place or online within your workplace and focus on an example of the works of mercy in which your ministry is involved. You could include words or phrases from your ministry’s vision, mission or purpose and values statements.
- You could create an Advent wreath with its four candles, one for each week of Advent, and place it somewhere central for people to see. There could be an Advent themed ‘thought for the week’ displayed nearby for people to ponder. The themes of HOPE, PEACE, LOVE and JOY are associated with Advent so they could be the focus, one each week.
- Perhaps you can facilitate some reflection and conversation about gift-giving in difficult times. One of my favourite Gospel passages about the birth of Jesus is found in Luke Ch 2: 17-19, where Luke writes:
“The shepherds made known what had been told them about this child and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds had told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.”
What words, what attitudes of heart, mind and spirit from our Christian tradition do we treasure or ponder and offer as a gift in these challenging times, as we anticipate this holy time?
- Offering a smile or a word of thanks …
- Slowing down and noticing things when we feel like speeding up …
- Giving our time and sharing our resources, small though they may be …
- Enlarging spaces where peace can flourish …
- Cherishing time for silence and inner stillness …
- Walking lightly on the earth …
As you, your family and your ministry colleagues prepare for Christmas this year, may the Advent gift of ANTICIPATION, with its promise of what the future might hold, lighten your heart and deepen your gratitude for the small signs of God’s steadfast love for you and for all who share our common home.
Annette Schneider RSM, Formation Coordinator